Tela

We were given Friday as a day off for the inauguration of the President. So we took our little chevy out for a stroll...all the way to the coast! We had a group of five girls packed into it for the 7 hour journey. It was rough going at first, what with heavy fog, unclear road signs and Spanish roadblocks! We also had to watch a dog get run over by a transport and pass a funeral procession (no, we didn't do it on purpose!).

When we arrived in Tela we were met by Fernando (a guy we knew from Church). He worked for a resort called Honduras Shores and gave us a discount! He helped us past the worst roads I've seen in Honduras so far (it had rained a lot and flooded out entire sections). It rained all of Thursday, which gave us little hope for the rest of our stay. Friday we did get a small window of sun - growing to a beautiful day on Saturday! :) ....and then...Sunday we would have fried if we stayed!

So what did we do with this weather? A lot of our time was by their gorgeous pool, but we did end up walking to the downtown area (it took us an hour and a half along the beach! I was sore!). We also talked to the other people at our resort...there were 10 Canadian couples enjoying a month away from the frigid north! Too bad that most of their stay was rainy! We went out to eat at a place within Tela and bumped into a large group of doctors from Holland Michigan (where Ruthie is from) who were helping out at a medical brigade. Talk about a small world, one of the doctors knew her parents! It was a good thing we bumped into them at that time, Steph had a medical issue and was able to consult within the restaurant!

It was a great time and we ended up taking a lot of pictures! So I'll just put a few in...

We played in the children's pool, it looked quite fun when the fountains were on!













From left to right: Ruthie, Trina, Steph, Fernando, me and Heidi













Hanging out by the pool












Me, Trina and Heidi: a roomie picture













Ruthie and Steph enjoying the Caribbean












Steph and Ruthie
















As requested, a picture of our wonderful road conditions that Heidi was able to guide us through

The Feeding Center

This past weekend I went to the Feeding Center with some of my fellow teachers. Every month a group goes to the other side of the city to a low income residential area and provides spiritual and physical refreshment for the kids. This trip we had a special program ready, a Honduran drama troupe that sang songs, performed skits and gave away toys. The teachers of Pinares went early in order to help gather the children from the surrounding area...well...we were supposed to leave early, but it took us two hours to get to the church and then follow a motorcycle to the building. It rained on the way there, which was unfortunate for us, since most of the teachers were in the back of an open pick-up truck.

When we arrived there were only a few children inside, so a few of us walked the 'streets' to find more. There was the stickiest mud I've ever come across...it literally caked the bottom of my shoes! But it was worth it to see all the children running towards us, so excited - their faces lit up with expectancy! By the time we finished our round-up there was standing room only! They had to bring in chairs and move benches around so the kids would be comfortable...the show had a clear message and got a huge response from the kids. They handed out salvation pamphlets which were taken eagerly.

Then we started giving out food...most of the kids had done this before so they had brought their own cups. We soon realized that there were too many children and not enough food...we resorted to chip bags but those didn't fill the need...it seemed that our outreach had brought in double the amount that was usual and the supply wasn't up to the demand. It was hard to turn them away...you'd expect them to be upset, but instead they clung to us wanting to be held! They were so precious! It was a good day.


Here's an example of one of the sweet faces that you meet!














Photo of the day: Tiffany and Erin protecting themselves from the rain under a tarp














In Him,
-Amy-

Tribute to Trinity's Trolls!

Though we had to say a lot of goodbyes, we also had some visitors enter our little community. Ruthie and Stephanie from Trinity College have graced us with their presence as student teachers. Kyle and Matt are both alumni from this esteemed educational center as well, so that makes four 'Trolls' in all...we're being overrun! ;)

It's been a pleasure welcoming them into our world! To make their stay even more enjoyable, we're taking Ruthie and Stephanie to Tela this weekend! I hope they enjoy it. To Trinity: Thanks for sending such great teachers our way! (If you happen to have any science, bible, or history teachers looking for work...we're here!) ;)

Photo of the Day: Matt, Ruthie, Stephanie and Kyle...the Pinares Trolls!

Goodbyes

This past week we said goodbye to our highschool Bible teacher and nurse. Wally & Julie Lindsey had to go back to the States on January 20th...we will miss them, especially since this leaves another large gap to fill for teachers. Right now Mr. Priest (our principal) is teaching chemistry classes (making Mr. Smith come in to deal with discipline). That in itself is hard, but we also need a biology teacher, a highschool sub, a shop teacher (though we have a temporary teacher), and now a nurse and Bible/Philosophy/Sociology teacher...Bibi Garcia has graciously taken over the last three! Way to go Bibi! Yet, the highschool right now is a hurting unit - and all of us are having to pitch in...So, if you know of anyone that would love to come and teach we'd love to hear from you!

Please pray for our situation.

In Him,
-Amy-

A Lot of Happenings!

After we returned to Honduras a lot of things have been happening all at once. Just recently we've been praying about getting a new car. We being Kyle, Heidi, Melodee and I. Before Christmas we had been talking to a few people that we knew were selling their vehicle - including the Woods and the Gomez's. This past week we ended up buying the Gomez vehicle: a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer. It's beautiful to us...especially since it means we can go downtown at a moment's notice!! Driving in Teguc is a bit of an adventure...what with the windy roads and random-minded drivers! We should be fine though, as long as we are careful to follow all of the many road rules of Honduras...we're learning how to communicate using the horn right now. ;)

Because we bought a car, we decided to also buy a cell-phone for emergencies. It took Melodee a few tries before they would give her the phone, but finally they caved...why would a company not want to give out their product? Anyhow, we have it now and it flips open! I really do enjoy that!

Another major change when we got back was that we decided to paint! A couple of our walls are a sort of grey/blue colour now. We ended up painting two walls in one night - with just a bit of paint getting all over us (why that would be, I can't imagine!). The third and final wall has yet to be done, but will make the apartment have a homey feel to it! Already it seems more cosy with the couches, new curtains (go Melodee!) and painted walls.

A special project that I wanted to do was change this crazy painting in our kitchen. It was orange, green and purple with a sword coming down and writing all over it. So - I decided it needed to be redone! Tonight I finally painted over it with the same colour as our walls. I don't know what I'll do to it, and am open to suggestions!

This may seem like a lot of extra stuff happening outside of school. We have had classes in amidst the apartment changes...and they've gone relatively well. The students are finishing up their second quarter and are writing exams and finishing projects.

Photo of the Day: Our new car!

In Him,
-Amy-

More about Christmas

I guess I'm a bit overdue on my blog! My Christmas holiday was a nice break, I enjoyed taking it easy and I did end up sleeping in by the end of the last week (not sure why it took that long, but ah well, it was a pretty nice feeling).

I enjoyed a great time with family - out of all the things we did together, I really enjoyed the virtual golf...as a first timer I did amazingly well! Getting par on the first hole of Pebble Beach even! :) Logan was beautiful! It was really nice meeting this little guy!

Another first experience was DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) for playstation2. Dave and Kristy were very good about sharing their new found treasure! I thought I had a good bead on it but then Craig showed us all up! Without ever playing it before he was able to outdance all of us (except the pros). It was very impressive (and now on video)! :)

I was able to spend some quality time with the whole Brooks's family, that was very nice! And Rach, I will have to watch the stars with you soon (like, I'll tell you I'm going at a certain time and you'll have to go too)!

New Years was nice, I spent some time with the Gilbert's and a lot of families from the Chapel. We prayed in the New Year, what a nice way to start the year!

Heidi and I came back without further incident (no trophy sightings). But we did get to ride a monorail at the Houston airport (rushing to get to our terminal because we only had 10 minutes!). It was intense, but we were rewarded when we met up with a bunch of Pinares teachers who were taking the same flight!

Now we're back in the swing of things and I'm feeling slightly tired (that's an understatement!). We had a very nice Christmas at the apartment, everyone brought back thoughful gifts and we enjoyed good fellowship (after running away from each other to wrap our gifts)! :) Thanks to everyone for a very special time!

Photo of the Day: My Brother and I enjoying Canadian weather!
















In Him,
-Amy-